Tag Archives: MTHFR recovery

MTHFR mutation discussions can quickly turn into Greek and the topic of overmethylated vs undermethylated MTHFR is one of the Greekest. It seems like no two resources on the internet are talking about the same thing when they talk about it and so overmethylation and undermethylation are strange, kind of meaningless words because at the end of the day it feels like nailing jello to a wall. So let’s see if we can sort some of this out.

Whose Idea Is This? I’m Following The Walsh Research Institute

The terms overmethylation and undermethylation make the most sense to me as the Walsh Research Institute uses them. These are general physical tendencies based on the sum of your genetics, nutritional status and body burden. There isn’t one gene or genetic defect alone that can account for them – so just because you have an MTHFR C677T mutation doesn’t actually mean you’re over or under methylated (although it would be one factor that might push the balance to undermethylation). Dr. Walsh describes one’s methylation status as being like a tug of war between opposing factors. Many of those are genetic and some are nutritional or environmental.

Undermethylation MTHFR

This is the most common state. According to Dr. Walsh’s research, 70% of the population are normal methylators, 22% are undermethylators and 8% are overmethylators. Undermethylation indicates that the methylation cycle as a whole is slowed down enough that the end product, SAMe, is typically inadequate and thus causes symptoms.

Clinically undermethylators are more commonly autism spectrum (98% of autism spectrum clients at the Walsh Research Institute), antisocial disorder (95% of antisocial clients at WRI were undermethylators), schizoaffective disorder (90%), oppositional defiant disorder (85%), anorexia (82%), and depression (which can occur in under, normal or over methylators but 38% of depressed clients for Dr. Walsh are undermethylators).

Mutations most likely to contribute to undermethylation are MTHFR (C677T especially, but also A1298C), MS, BHMT, MAT and SAHH. Remember that the presence of one or more of these mutations isn’t enough to say if you’re an over or under methylator. The combination of all of your genetic factors as well as your nutritional state must be taken into account. The best way to determine is through symptoms and traits.

Other contributing factors are histamine overload and protein deficiency, as well as frank deficiency of folate.

Highly competitive? You might be undermethylated

Symptoms and traits of undermethylation include:

Strong willed

Highly competitive at sports or whatever matters to them

Obsessive/compulsive tendencies

Addictive tendencies (more likely to be addicted with less exposure than a normal methylator)

High sex drive

Tend towards high accomplishment and usually a high achieving family

Appear calm and well controlled (possibly over-controlled) but inner tension is high

Is Undermethylated the Same as Under-supplemented?

No! Although it seems that in a lot of popular literature on the subject people use the term interchangeably. So often you’ll see someone say that you might still be “undermethylated” if you aren’t taking enough 5-MTHF. I feel that these are different things entirely. If you have a tendency to be undermethylated then certainly you will probably need to take 5-MTHF, but even once you’re taking enough you are still an undermethylator (in my opinion), you’re just taking the right protocol. Likewise taking too much 5-MTHF, doesn’t make you suddenly “overmethylated” it just means you’re taking too much.

Okay! I’m Undermethylated. Now What?

Absolutely the best way to enhance the methylation cycle is by taking 5-MTHF, or 5-L methyltetrahydrofolate. This is the active form of folic acid, and you can also get it from foods, especially if you have some trouble taking the supplement. Trouble taking the supplement is surprisingly common, typically it is an adjustment reaction to actually enhancing the methylation cycle because this changes neurotransmitter levels, encourages detoxification and encourages more than 80 reactions in the body that are methylation dependent. So some adjustment reaction when you’re first taking 5-MTHF is normal and actually a good sign that things are changing in your body. There is one BIG EXCEPTION TO THIS, and that is if you are undermethylated and have depression.

I Want to Start Taking 5-MTHF. How Do I Make This Easy?

Any time you start taking 5-MTHF, or increase your dose, there will be an adjustment period. Here’s a whole post on it. Just remember, start with a low dose and increase really slowly. This is changing the way your neurotransmitters work and doing some heavy detox work, so it’s vital not to overdo it because that is crazy-making. Start low and go slow.

HELP! I’m An Undermethylator and I Have Depression.

My next post is going to be all about this because UNDERMETHYLATORS WITH DEPRESSION DUE TO LOW SEROTONIN CAN’T TOLERATE 5-MTHF, FOOD SOURCES OF FOLATE OR FOLIC ACID AT ALL. That’s a really big deal! Depression is typically characterized by low serotonin states and unfortunately 5-MTHF (or any folate or folic acid). The short explanation for this is that folate, 5-MTHF and folic acid all increase the activity of the transport protein that re-uptakes serotonin into the cell. Essentially this is the opposite of a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (like prozac), it’s a serotonin reuptake promotor – meaning it makes the serotonin you have far less effective because it clears it out more quickly. There will be a whole post on this – I promise!

MTHFR mutations are just starting to be recognized as an issue and so more and more doctors are testing, but what happens if your doctor tells you that you’re homozygous for MTHFR A1298C? They might as well be speaking Greek! So here’s the skinny on what that really means. Also here’s a post about MTHFR mutation basic in general.

MTHFR A1298C Terminology Basics (or as basic as we’re going to get with genetics).

The simplest level of information here is just the plain genetics. Here are some quick factoids to get us started:

MTHFR is the short name for the genes that code for the enzyme that changes folic acid to the active form that your body uses (the long name is methylfolate reductace).

1298 is the marker for one particular MTHFR gene.

The official genetics labeling of this gene is Rs1801131. Sigh.

You get one copy of this gene from your mother and one from your father, so there are two possible copies that can be either “normal” or “mutant”

If you inherited one good copy and one bad copy that’s called “heterozygous A1298C”

If you inherited two bad copies (one from each parent) that’s called “homozygous A1298C”

A…C stand for the bases that you actually have. A = adenine C = cytosine. Bases are essentially the letters that spell out your genetic code. There are four of them commonly (C, T, A and G).

When this gene is “normal”or “wild type” (I love that name) it looks like MTHFR A1298A.

Heterozygous mutations (one good copy and one bad) are MTHFR A1298C because there is one normal A and one abnormal C Also occasionally written 1298AC.

Homozygous A1298C (two bad copies) can also be written as C1298C (because there are two abnormal copies with C instead of A). Occasionally you’ll also see it written 1298CC

Phew! So the take-away there is MTHFR A1298C means you have at least one bad copy of this gene, and if it’s called homozygous, or C1298C then you have two bad copies.

How Much of a Problem Is This?

The MTHFR A1298C mutation is considered less serious than the C677T mutation because it seems to cause less impairment to actual methylation function than C677T. That doesn’t in any way mean that it isn’t an issue. This mutation can still be a significant problem If you don’t have a good diet, don’t take supplements or burden your body with a lot of stressors like smoking, alcohol, drugs, sedentary lifestyle or high stress. If you get lots of dark green leafy veggies, legumes and other food sources of natural folate – see this post – then you’re probably already getting good methylfolate. If your diet isn’t up to scratch, then supplementation can be useful and here’s a whole post about that.

Heterozygous MTHFR A1298C is thought to have mostly normal MTHFR activity and homozygous MTHFR A1298C (C1298C) have about 65% normal activity (so 35% compromise). Normal activity refers to the way your body converts folic acid to 5-L-methyltetrahydrafolate (the active form) so that it can be used. Compromise in this case looks like a folate deficiency.

What Are The Health Risks of MTHFR A1298C Mutation?

According to SNPedia, which compiles research on genetics, A1298C mutants have been shown in at least one research study to have an increased risk for:

Midline defects such as:

Cleft lip

Cleft palate

Neural tube defects

Facial asymmetries

Cancers including:

Breast

Lung

Brain

Stomach

Head and neck

Kidney

Cardiac-related issues including:

Thrombosis (increased tendency to clot inappropriately)

High homocysteine levels (a heart risk)

Pre-eclampsia (dangerous high blood pressure in pregnancy)

Vascular dementia

Fertility issues including:

Multiple pregnancy loss

Low sperm count

Birth defects such as down syndrome

Neurological issues including:

Migraines

Autism

Alzheimer’s dementia

Mood and psychological issues including:

Depression

Anxiety

Schizophrenia

You’ll notice that this is quite a list, and it can be a little daunting to think about when you’re just learning about this. Most research doesn’t differentiate between the A1298C genetic variance and the C677T genetic variance so the list is the same for both mutations. We assume the risk is lower with A1298C because the folate metabolism is less strongly impaired, but that might not be correct.

What Do You Do About This?

Compromise with the MTHFR A1298C gene can have severe consequences so it’s important to work on getting good sources of natural folate from foods, which is generally useable by mutants, or 5-MTHF (5-methyltetrahydrofolate) which is already methylated so the genetic compromise doesn’t matter. As discussed in this article, I feel supplementation should be started slowly because for many mutants who haven’t had active folate very much in their lives it feels really strange when those active forms start showing up. There can be quite an adjustment reaction by your body.

Activated folate is used by your body to run enzyme pathways, to aid in some parts of normal metabolism, to help your body detoxify and even to methylate your DNA. The methylation cycle is also a big part of neurotransmitter manufacture, which explains the strong link to depression, anxiety, and mental disorders including addictions and even schizophrenia. If 5-Methylfolate isn’t there then your body does maintains those functions as best it can, but the things your body can’t do start to pile up. Starting supplementation means your body can start digging in that pile to clear up high priority items. This is exactly what we want, but if you start with high doses of a supplement then it’s a little like drinking from the firehose. Kind of out of control and not very pleasant.

A great way to start if you’re unsure, is with a folate-rich diet. I love this image because it kind of covers what we’re looking for. Hint – think dark greens and beans. 🙂

Is folate in foods safe in MTHFR mutants? In these foods YES! For MTHFR C677T or MTHFR A1298C mutants. Thanks to exhibithealth.com for the great image.

Can Mutants Become “Normal”?

If you’re a mutant (like me) then you’ll always be a mutant, but it doesn’t have to matter. Essentially as long as you’re getting enough of the active form of folate and taking care of yourself for the other consequences of the MTHFR mutation then the mutation doesn’t have to matter. If you aren’t taking care of yourself, then it matters a lot.

The bottom line is MTHFR A1298C mutations don’t have to mean anything at all as long as you supplement and have a good diet and lifestyle (here’s an article about a folate-rich diet for MTHFR mutants) I always suggest taking a little more care with yourself too. There are known health risks for things like clotting, fertility and cancers so it makes sense to take some precautions. Eat your fiber, do your exercises, get your sleep and generally treat yourself with high regard – shouldn’t we all anyway?

MTHFR mutations are just starting to be recognized as an issue and so more and more doctors are testing, but what happens if your doctor tells you that you’re homozygous for MTHFR C677T? They might as well be speaking Greek! So here’s the skinny on what that really means. Also here’s a post about MTHFR mutation basic in general.

MTHFR C677T Terminology Basics (or as basic as we’re going to get with genetics).

The simplest level of information here is just the plain genetics. Here are some quick factoids to get us started:

MTHFR is the short name for the genes that code for the enzyme that changes folic acid to the active form that your body uses (the long name is methylfolate reductace).

677 is the marker for one particular MTHFR gene.

The official genetics labeling of this gene is Rs1801133. Sigh.

You get one copy of this gene from your mother and one from your father, so there are two possible copies that can be either “normal” or “mutant”

If you inherited one good copy and one bad copy that’s called “heterozygous C677T”

If you inherited two bad copies (one from each parent) that’s called “homozygous C677T”

C…T stand for the bases that you actually have. C = cytosine, T = thymine. Bases are essentially the letters that spell out your genetic code. There are four of them commonly (C, T, A and G).

When this gene is “normal” it looks like MTHFR C677C.

Heterozygous mutations are MTHFR C677T because there is one normal C and one abnormal T. Also occasionally written 677CT.

Homozygous C677T can also be written as T677T (because there are two abnormal copies with T instead of C). Occasionally you’ll also see it written 677TT

Phew! So the take-away there is MTHFR C677T means you have at least one bad copy of this gene, and if it’s called homozygous, or T677T then you have two bad copies.

How Much of a Problem Is This?

This can be a significant problem If you don’t have a good diet or you don’t take supplements. If you get lots of dark green leafy veggies, legumes and other food sources of natural folate – see this post – then you’re probably already getting good methylfolate. If your diet isn’t up to scratch, then supplementation can be useful and here’s a whole post about that.

Heterozygous MTHFR C677T have about 65% normal MTHFR activity (so 35% compromise) and homozygous MTHFR C677T (T677T) have about 30% normal activity (so 70% compromise). Normal activity refers to the way your body activates your folic acid so that it can be used, so compromise usually looks like a functional folate deficiency.

What Are The Health Risks of C677T Mutation?

According to SNPedia, which compiles research on genetics, C677T mutants have been shown in at least one research study to have an increased risk for:

Midline defects such as:

Cleft lip

Cleft palate

Neural tube defects

Facial asymmetries

Cancers including:

Breast

Lung

Brain

Stomach

Head and neck

Kidney

Cardiac-related issues including:

Thrombosis (increased tendency to clot inappropriately)

High homocysteine levels (a heart risk)

Pre-eclampsia (dangerous high blood pressure in pregnancy)

Vascular dementia

Fertility issues including:

Multiple pregnancy loss

Low sperm count

Birth defects such as down syndrome

Neurological issues including:

Migraines

Autism

Alzheimer’s dementia

Mood and psychological issues including:

Depression

Anxiety

Schizophrenia

You’ll notice that this is quite a list, and it can be a little daunting to think about when you’re just learning about this.

What Do You Do About This?

Compromise with the MTHFR C677T gene can have severe consequences so it’s important to work on getting good sources of natural folate, which is generally useable by mutants, or 5-MTHF (5-methyltetrahydrofolate) which is already methylated so the genetic compromise doesn’t matter. As discussed in this article, I feel supplementation should be started slowly because for many mutants who haven’t had active forms of folate very much in their lives it feels really strange when those active forms start showing up and there is a whole lot of adjusting by your body. This activated folate is used by your body to run enzyme pathways, to aid in some parts of normal metabolism, to help your body detoxify and even to methylate your DNA. If it isn’t there then your body does what it can, but what it can’t do starts to pile up. Any time you start supplementation then your body starts digging in that pile to clear up high priority items. This is exactly what we want, but if you start with high doses of a supplement then it’s a little like drinking from the firehose. Kind of out of control and not very pleasant.

A great way to start if you’re unsure, is with a folate-rich diet. I love this image because it kind of covers what we’re looking for. Hint – think dark greens and beans. 🙂

Is folate in foods safe in MTHFR mutants? In these foods YES, even for MTHFR C677T mutants. Thanks to exhibithealth.com for the great image.

Can Mutants Become “Normal”?

If you’re a mutant (like me) then you’ll always be a mutant, but it doesn’t have to matter. Essentially as long as you’re getting enough of the active form of folate then the mutation doesn’t have to matter. If you aren’t, then it matters a lot.

The bottom line is MTHFR C677T mutations don’t have to mean anything at all as long as you supplement and have a good diet (here’s an article about a folate-rich diet for MTHFR mutants) I always suggest taking a little more care with yourself too. There are known health risks for things like clotting, fertility and cancers so it makes sense to take some precautions. Eat your fiber, do your exercises, get your sleep and generally treat yourself with high regard – shouldn’t we all anyway?

The quick answer is no. You probably don’t need genetic testing for MTHFR even if you suspect there’s a problem, but you still might want it. If that isn’t enough information, then read on!

Why Genetic Testing for MTHFR Might Not Be Necessary

For many people with the MTHFR mutation, there is a simpler, more medically recognized, cheaper test called homocysteine. For the majority of MTHFR folk homocysteine levels become elevated because of the lack of usable folate. This test is cheap and you won’t have any trouble talking your doctor into ordering it. Bonus!

Dr. Charis Eng, a prominent geneticist at the Cleveland Clinic makes a great argument that really, if you suspect a mutation, you can just take the methyl-folate and appropriate B vitamins and you’re done. No harm, no foul. In short you don’t need genetic testing because you can just go ahead and take the vitamins. Good point Dr. Eng!

Even with a complete genetic profile run through every methylation panel out there, finding the right dose of methylfolate for you is still a lot of educated guessing and trial and error. Testing might give you guidelines, but you really still have to start slowly and work your way up.

Are There Reasons Why I Should Do Genetic Testing for MTHFR?

There are certainly some compelling reasons to get the testing done, not the least of which is your kiddos.

With genetic testing, especially the complete information gathered from 23andme, you have a better idea of not only your MTHFR status but also about all of the other genes that play into the methylation and detoxification process. It helps us understand all of the ways you might be compromised and so gives a more solid starting place. (If your doctor runs the MTHFR test then really you’ll only have info about MTHFR, not about any of the related genes).

If you have kids or are thinking about having kids it really helps to know what their chances are of picking up bad copies of these genes from you. If you know there might be an issue then you can start helping them find balance while they’re young (or even before they’re born).

What are the Options for Genetic Testing for MTHFR from my MD?

MDs have started ordering testing – especially if you have some strange blood coagulation issues, if you’ve had repeat miscarriages, or if you pester the hell out of them. Insurance will only cover testing if it’s “medically necessary” – and typically that is only if there are weird blood clotting issues. Just keep that in mind. There are only a few MTHFR tests that are FDA approved, and none of them are intended for people with anxiety, depression, inflammatory disorders, etc… They still work, but it can be hard to talk your doctor into ordering them. These are all spendy if insurance isn’t paying for them, so ask your doctor before you have them run.

Is there Genetic Testing for MTHFR that You Can Run Yourself?

This is by far my favorite option, simply because you get so much for so little money (relatively speaking). It’s 23andme. They provide you with a saliva test kit that you mail in and in about a month you get a whole heap of information online including info about your ancestry, about your genetic response to certain pharmaceutical drugs, and about different health risk factors. At the time of this article it’s $199 US or $249 Canadian. Typically this is cheaper than the FDA approved testing and there’s far more information. Embedded in all of this information is your MTHFR status, although it’s hard to find unless you run your results through some kind of interpretation engine.

In terms of interpretation for MTHFR there are a couple that I like. The one I suggest most often is called “genetic genie” and they have a methylation panel (that uses the raw data from 23andme) and a detox panel (again with the 23andme). The reports are very complete and they ask for a modest donation. Freaking awesome.

Another good option are the reports from MTHFR support. This report shows more gene snips than the genetic genie report, but gives less information about each one. It also costs a little more (but still totally reasonable). Like genetic genie, MTHFR support doesn’t actually test the genetics – you need 23andme for that – they just interpret the information.

At the end of the day you can get genetic testing for MTHFR if you choose, but you don’t really have to – you can also just go ahead and start to supplement if you suspect an issue. I’m a total geek for information, so of course I got mine done by 23andme (I’m 3% neanderthal, in case you were wondering, because obviously that is information everybody needs). I’m glad I know, but honestly it really didn’t change too much about the way I approach my dosage of methylfolate. It’s just better information for me (and for my kiddos).

The question of folate in food safe for MTHFR mutants has, like everything else about MTHFR, a complex answer: yes and no. Sigh. But actually there’s a pretty easy split, and that’s between foods naturally high in folate, and foods fortified with folic acid.

Foods Naturally High in Folate

This list is all awesomeness. These are great healthy foods that most people want to incorporate into their diet but many of us mutants (MTHFR mutants that is) hesitate because of the folate content. Great news folks – naturally occuring folate is actually not a problem with the MTHFR mutation. Here’s the thing – what we call “folate” isn’t actually just one thing. In nature it’s a collection of related molecules in the family of pteroylglutamates (say that three times fast). Folate can be used directly by the human body, it doesn’t have to be converted into anything and so with or without a MTHFR mutation we can use folate well.

We use folate to synthesize, repair and methylate DNA, and as a cofactor in a number of reactions in the human body. It’s especially important in periods of rapid growth and cell division – so infancy, growth spurts and pregnancy. We also use it to make our red blood cells and deficiency is one of the causes of anemia.

Is folate in food safe for MTHFR mutants? In these foods YES. Thanks to exhibithealth.com for the great image.

The answer to the question ‘Is NATURALLY OCCURING folate in foods safe for MTHFR mutants?’ Is a resounding YES.

Foods Fortified with Folic Acid

Here’s where the MTHFR group get tripped up. Often ‘folate’ and ‘folic acid’ are used interchangeably to refer to the same thing, because they theoretically do the same things in the body. Except for MTHFR mutants they really don’t do the same thing because we have varying degrees of impairment with the enzyme that converts folic acid to folate. This means that MTHFR mutants really can’t count folic acid, which is the synthetic, lab-created, oxidized form of folate which is really not found so much in nature. This requires functioning MTHFR genes to be converted into a usable form of folate. If you don’t have good function of your MTHFR genes (and just a note – we all have some function, we’re just impaired) then you don’t get to use this form very well.

Folic Acid ≠ Folate

The issue with eating a lot of foods fortified with folic acid for an MTHFR mutant is that the folic acid competes at receptor sites with natural folate that is coming from your diet. This means the synthetic folic acid makes the natural folate less effective because much of the time the synthetic (unusable) form is clogging up the folate receptors.

Foods Most Likely to Be Fortified with Folic Acid (Unsafe for MTHFR Mutants):

The best strategy to make your foods MTHFR friendly is to eat whole foods, natural unfortified whole grains, and skip the fortified garbage. There are many dangers of folic acid (and not just to MTHFR mutants – we’ll talk about that later) so avoid it wherever possible and add naturally-occurring folate-rich foods into your diet wherever you can. One more time: Is folate in food safe for MTHFR mutants? You betcha, but folic acid isn’t.

I don’t know about you, but I have this kind of indestructible myth going on about my body and I always expect to bounce back from major health stuff immediately, but then I have to remember what I always say to my clients – health recovery is WAY more work for your body than you think it is and it takes SO MUCH LONGER than you think it will. This applies pretty much across the board and the bottom line is to be gentle with your body, be gentle with yourself. There are so many ways that your body can be asking for help and support and at the end of the day, it’s the most intelligent tool you will ever have so here’s some more reasons to treat your body right.

It’s hard to accept the idea that something you had a month ago might actually still be affecting the way your body is doing things, but the fact is that for some common conditions, recovery can literally take years. This does not gel with our instant gratification society at all.

So – why is this important? Well, your body is more vulnerable when it’s trying to recover from something so part of your resources are devoted to that task – meaning there is less to go around for everything else. Still, the human tendency is to push to what you can normally do, or even worse: what you feel you *should* be able to do rather than listening to your body’s signals that it needs rest, nourishment, sleep.

What Happens When You Ignore the Recovery Period:

Recovery Takes Longer: The recovery HAS to happen. Your body has an imperative for that to continue. If it doesn’t happen then it just keeps dragging you down in the background or weakening your fundamental energy and strength. It’s like an open drain at the bottom of your bucket – your energy is constantly siphoned off, bit by bit.

Energy Drain: The more you push through, the stronger the signals your body will send to not push through. Energy gets lower and lower because your body has to make you stop and rest somehow. Really, how many ways can your body tell you it’s still hurting?

Resources Dwindle: Your body is actively using nutrients, energy reserves and even hormonal reserves to try to deal with this lingering issue and if you’re not giving it extra time, rest and nutrients to do that or if you’re expecting to do all he things you normally do in a day as well then reserves get used up quickly.

Long-term Consequences: Pushing through just compounds the problem and can lead to long-term consequences. Conditions like chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, adrenal fatigue and “burn out” are all natural consequences of your body bearing more burdens than it can handle for longer than it had the resources to deal with. These burdens can include stunted or ignored recovery times, emotional stressors, nutritional deficiencies, unhealed viruses, high inflammation and sleep deprivation.

So How Much Time Does Your Body Need?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a magical one-size-fits all answer to that question? Sadly, there isn’t but there are ball-park figures that can give you an estimation. The healthier you are going into something the generally shorter the recovery period is, but the biggest gift you can give your body is actually listening to your body’s signals. Here are some typical situations that take far longer to recover from than you would ever think possible:

Dehydration/heat exhaustion – Typically initial recovery to the point that your body feels normal takes 4-6 weeks depending on how severe the dehydration was. After that count on at least a year of having to be vigilant about hydration, trace minerals and electrolytes because your body is far more susceptible to relapse in this time – even though you may feel “normal” your reserves are still far lower than they should be. If you don’t put the effort into rebuilding those reserves you can perpetuate a situation where relapse remains an issue, even for a decade or more.

Food sensitivities – Food sensitivities are a bigger issue than you may realize. So many people discover a food sensitivity such as wheat or corn, but because they’ve been eating that thing their entire lives they don’t especially take it seriously, or eliminate the food 95% but cheat a few times per week. This can actually raise the total level of body inflammation and perpetuate it. We are human, and sure – cheating happens, but it’s actually better to save it and do it big than to cheat in little ways frequently. Like the Christmas cookies cheat and the birthday cake cheat and the rest of the time be 100% sensitivity free. Eliminating a food sensitivity completely will yield long-term results but your body will be changing, regaining health and recovering from that food for a long time – even years. Of course this is hard to quantify, but I can say that I noticed subtle, positive changes continue to happen for me for approximately the first four years of being wheat-free before things leveled off. There is digestive repair, better nutrient absorption, replenishing nutrient reserves, reducing inflammation and healing damage. Of course the little constant cheats undermine that process and essentially stop progress.

Pregnancy, pregnancy loss, delivery – Pregnancy takes a huge toll on a woman’s nutrient and energy reserves, as do pregnancy loss (especially late losses) and labor and delivery. Your body is programmed to give the best of everything you have to the baby. The best nutrients, the best fats, the best minerals, the bulk of your reserves. It takes a lot of time to build those up again. Outside of that, actually building a baby is a tremendous effort – think of it like continuously running a marathon. There is a reason the first and third trimesters are such sleepy times and although part of it is changing hormone levels, those hormones make you sleepy for a reason. That reason, of course, being that you actually need far more sleep, far more rest, far more down time because your body is building a human. The hardest scenario to recover from is back-to-back babies. Although there hasn’t been research done on the length of the recovery period ancient cultures tend to say that six weeks of rest, relaxation, pampering and the most nourishing foods will prevent six years of fatigue, frustration and sadness. This truly means six weeks of being cared for after delivery. Here’s a great article on postnatal depletion.

Virus – Of course every virus is different and your body will recover from the common cold (usually rhinovirus) far before it will recover from mono or parvovirus or herpes. The thing about viruses is that they linger in your system and can become dormant, only to reemerge in times of stress (the classic is herpes – cold sores or outbreaks will happen any time your body reaches a certain level of stress or depletion). Recently medicine is realizing that high viral loads also accompany conditions like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia – especially the slow-burn viruses like epstein-barr (mono) and cytomegalovirus (which typically only causes symptoms in newborns and the elderly, but can eat away at reserves in the background). As a general rule I like to give the body two times the active period of the virus for recovery if you really rest and let your body do it. So however long you feel symptoms give your body twice as long as that again to actually focus on great nourishment, good sleep, low stress and moderate activity. Remember for mono the symptoms can last easily 6-12 weeks so 12-24 weeks after that for recovery.

Over-training – Over-training can be a big issue in athletes and weekend warriors alike. Essentially it’s a situation where you ignore your body’s actual capacity to reach a goal. The common factor is ignoring capacity – athletes have a tremendous capacity and typically take great care of themselves physically, but also generally push the limits of what their body can do, how it performs and how much it can do. Weekend warriors are typically not the best at taking care of their bodies, but over-push when they get a chance to because they don’t get as many chances to as they’d like. Either way, the consequences are similar – little bits of damage with every work out that don’t always get a chance to fully heal before the next workout and so build up in the background. A good trainer or coach should encourage rest days and even rest weeks to their athletes, but that doesn’t always happen. Again – it comes down to actually listening to your body and responding appropriately. Typically though when you stop listening injuries start to escalate. It starts with small things and then bigger things as you re-injure vulnerable areas that haven’t fully healed. For a cycle like this I suggest 3-6 months off of training with great nutrition, hydration, rest, and gentle therapeutic exercise to the injured area (often range of motion exercise, stretching, foam roller and massage to the area). Truly letting your body heal is hard when you’ve got a goal, but so worth it in the end.

MTHFR recovery – For anyone struggling with MTHFR you know it has often been a lifelong symptom picture that just isn’t addressed until the gene mutation is discovered. Once the mutation is discovered then starts the long road of nutrient repletion, damage repair and detoxification. Essentially your body has always been malnourished in a fundamental way and starting to re-nourish with the active forms of folate and B12 also allows your body to get the wheels turning on all of the work it couldn’t do while you were malnourished. This process can take years to fully evolve and can be incredibly rocky as you’re first trying to find the best protocol for you. Once you do find a good protocol, plan on allowing the process to unfold for several years before you really see the true end-result. Stick to your supplements and listen to your body because you will need more rest, better hydration and better nutrition through this process as your body catches up with the backlog of work it didn’t have the resources to do before. The more severe your mutation, the longer the process will take. Count on at least a year and typically longer to see the full results.

Anaphylaxis – A serious allergic reaction triggers so many processes within your body and it uses a tremendous amount of resources in an extremely short time. With appropriate treatment your body can get feeling back to normal even within the first 24 hours, but for most people the allergic response is actually heightened for weeks, sometimes months after the event. This means that smaller insults and things that don’t normally trigger full-blown allergic responses can do so because your body is already more keyed up. Recovery takes rest, lots of water, trace minerals and electrolytes but also a “clean” environment where you work to eliminate even the minor allergies from your sphere so that your body has a chance to truly calm down. Steroid treatment is the fall-back if you can’t interrupt this process naturally, but steroids take a toll on your body too. The best way is to avoid as much as possible your food sensitivities, environmental allergies and triggers and give your body good hydration, nutrition and electrolytes. Let your body calm down naturally and plan on at least 3 months.

Surgery/Trauma – Naturally it depends on the type of surgery or trauma, but recovery truly does take far longer than most people consider. Repair and remodeling is typically happening well beyond the length of time you feel the pain of the wounds. Use the viral model – however long you were hurting, take that length of time again after the pain stops to recover fully. That means during that time you’re focusing on good sleep, good nutrition, good hydration and minimizing stress.

Mental and Emotional Stress – This is a biggie – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client in my office who had a divorce two years ago and their health just hasn’t been the same since. Likewise with family dying, extended stress or grief situations and lawsuits. Mental and emotional stress is as much of a stressor for your body, your system and your reserves as any physical ailment you can think of, and maybe more. This drains energy, keeps up an unhealthy hormone cascade and uses far more nutrients than you might realize. Recovery after a stressful period is often years in the making and requires not only physical rest and nurturing but mental and emotional rest as well. Counseling, homeopathy, meditation, spiritual or religious work and hypnosis can all be helpful at this point. Use the tools that work for you and allow yourself the time and space to fully heal. Get help when you need it, ask friends and family for support, do things that bring you joy. Allow yourself to grieve fully, release emotions, sleep, cry, scream, get angry and do whatever it is you need to do. Just try not to “push through” and ignore your needs or tell yourself you “should” be over it by now – if you’re not, you’re not. Just listen to your body’s needs.

Health Recovery: How to Truly Recover Fully:

Your body has an inherent wisdom and a knowing about what needs to happen. The problem is that your brain often overrides that wisdom with all of the social rules you learned as a kid – you “should” be tough enough to handle this. Laying around or sleeping too much is “lazy.” Taking all that time is “self-indulgent.” “Other people have it way worse.” Sure – they might, but life isn’t a competition to see who suffers the most and only that person gets to feel bad. Western society has a kind of work-martyr complex where we all need to be pushing as hard as we can all the time to be better, faster, richer, slimmer, nicer and younger. Because that’s possible. Actually recovering requires letting some of that go – stepping a little to the side and acknowledging that you are important to you. I am important to me. Important enough to rest, to relax, to let go of the extra stuff. Important enough to do this:

Stop when you’re tired in any way – mentally, physically or both. This requires noticing when you’re tired so if you’re one of those people who notices they’re exhausted only when they sit down, then it’s time to start sitting down every 10 minutes just to check in. Don’t tell yourself all about the things that need doing, just sit your but down and pay attention.

Stop making excuses – we all do it. When people ask how you’re doing and you say “Busy!” with that note of eager pride it means that your life is unnecessarily cluttered up by ridiculous things. If your answer to that question is or has recently been “busy,” “hectic” or anything similar then it’s time to sit down with your schedule and get brutal about slashing things away. You don’t need to volunteer for the PTA, the neighborhood association, business networking meetings or anything else that isn’t directly your job or your family. The kids don’t need 8 extra-curricular activities to which you need to drive them. You won’t die if your house is less than perfect, if the car doesn’t get washed or the lawn doesn’t get mowed. I’m willing to bet you make time on your schedule for all kinds of people who you don’t actually want to spend your time with. Slash it all. Everything that isn’t absolutely necessary, needs to go so that you can have space to do whatever nourishes you. Here’s a great article about it called “The Busy Trap.”

Do what nourishes you – If really what your body wants is a long soak in the bathtub, make it happen. If you’re craving that extra two hours of sleep in the morning, find a way. If you want to sit and stare at the wall for 20 minutes doing nothing, go for it. If walks in nature or journeling have always been your solace then take the time. If you loved drawing or coloring or whatever as a kid, then try that again to see if it still sparks your mind. If you want to lay on your bed and stare at the ceiling then by all means. Schedule it in if you have to, but do it – not just once. Carve out an hour a week for just you. Once you’ve got the hang of an hour a week, carve out a second hour.

Eat nourishing food – I”ve heard the argument that “what nourishes me is a dozen krispy kremes.” Actually no, no it’s not. Granted, it’s a great drug but ultimately using a drug (alcohol, sex, pain, food, drama) to take your attention away from your own life, health, situation or healing boils down to avoidance. That doesn’t mean a good pizza and donut night is entirely out on the recovery plan, it just means that it isn’t every night or even the majority of nights. Focus on fruits and veggies and simple grains like rice. Slow cooked meals, soups and stews are great because the long-cooking essentially partially digests them so your body has less work to do. Eat foods your mom or grandmother would have made for you – chicken soup, chili, beef stew, roasted veggies, baked apples.

Hydrate – drink lots of water, every day. Add lemon juice, a pinch of sea salt, trace minerals or electrolytes if it seems like the water goes straight through you. So many of us are chronically dehydrated all the time – get used to drinking more.

Sleep – I don’t care what everyone else says you should get. Sleep as long as your body wants as often as your body wants. If you have to get up to go to work then do it, but sleep as much as you can. Go to bed earlier, get up later. Nap. Invest in a hammock. Just sleep.

Emote – I’m often surprised by how much emotion comes up in every type of recovery. Even something emotionally neutral like foot surgery or a common cold. That is totally okay,, and whatever is coming up just go with it. If you need to cry, or scream, or throw things, or put on the Cure and mope a bit then get right to it. You don’t need to understand it, you don’t need to judge it, you don’t even need to attach any importance to it. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter why you feel like that, if you’re supposed to feel like that or how long you’re going to feel like that. Just let yourself feel like that. Emotions don’t make logical sense and they aren’t really supposed to. Sometimes you have to just let them happen and accept them.

Don’t Judge – You are human. Stuff takes longer than you think it’s going to. Life isn’t what they show in movies, and it isn’t going to be. Hollywood is in no way representative of reality. Recovery takes a long time and you need more love, gentleness and care than any character John Wayne ever played. Our society loves to martyr itself – we have the work martyr, the family martyr, the achievement martyr. There are so many ways to hang yourself on that cross, but here’s the thing. Killing yourself to do more, be better, ignore your own needs or downplay your own suffering doesn’t actually help anyone at all. Nobody benefits when you burn yourself down to a nub, or when you make a bunch of judgements about actually taking care of yourself. Just let it all go and allow yourself to be human. The more you are able to take care of your own needs, the more you actually have to offer the world. There is a reason they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on before helping those around you.

Health recovery is slow, stepwise, and can’t be skipped. Don’t fall into the trap of opening the drain at the bottom of your bucket and forgetting to close it again. You can contribute so much more to the world when you are operating at full capacity.

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Amy Neuzil is a Health Coach and Naturopath and not a Medical Doctor or Doctor of Osteopathy. All information on dramyneuzil.com is written from a naturopathic perspective. While Amy and dramyneuzil.com strive to have the most accurate information possible, we do not provide medical or health care advice. Please consult your physician before starting any new supplements or treatments and for any medical questions you may have.